greatbrownhype

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So do people here see a difference between cults and religion?

I've been debating this with a friend. It seem that all religion fits the bill of a cult, but to most people the word cult implies something more sinister.
Opinions, comments?

schutzenkonig

Cult is another word who's definition is vague. Therefore, allowing the government to abuse it like they at Waco, or Ruby Ridge. I've already put my views in on religion, see my recent thread about it as I don't care to repeat myself.

ButterMup

Yeah, that's pretty much the long and short of it.
Anything referred to as a 'religion' can also be defined as a 'cult', with very little syntactic fiddling.
Depending upon who you speak with, the term 'religion' can have a connotiation every bit as sinister and malign as 'cult', but calling something a cult generally elicits a little more shock and disdain from the general populace. It's really just a matter of one-half perspective and one-half the desire of whomever is doing the labelling to paint something in a certain light to best suit his or her point.

michaeljohn

I have always thought a cult was usually small. A religion has a large and socially acceptable following. Many small cults are and have been led by a charismatic leader. A cult can grow to become socially acceptable. The Latter Day Saints, and the Jehovah Witnesses are considered by some to be cults. They of course see things differently, being the "true" Christian church.

Usually too, a cult has many tenets not normally found in broader religions. People join cults because they find in them what their lives are missing. Not every cult is bad. We just see a few examples gone bad, as Jonestown, and the aforementioned ones above and bias our opinions of them.

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psychobilly

when you menion cult I think of the amish.

schutzenkonig

I don't know if I would consider those cults, but they certainly are not Christian groups if you were implying that they are. They don't believe in the trinity, ergo, they are not Christian.

Master Chief

cult ( P ) Pronunciation Key (klt)
n.

1.a) A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.
1.b) The followers of such a religion or sect.
2.) A system or community of religious worship and ritual.
3.) The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.
4.) A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.
5.a) Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.
5.b) The object of such devotion.
6.) An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.



Some meanings fit religion, some don't, and people with different views could argue about these meanings for pages.

gmonster

Mfinley,
you say cults are normally small groups, but isnt mormonism considered a cult? Just curious I am not trying to be smart but that is what I have always been told, and mormonism is one of the largest cults in the americas today, or has the largest following.

volfro

Schutze, the Trinity is not a teaching in the Bible. Good luck finding the word "trinity" in any scripture.

Belief in the Trinity does not make one Christian. Belief in Jesus as the Christ, the son of God, does (Christ being the root word of Christian). And Jehovah's Witnesses DO believe in Christ, as do Latter Day Saints.

Insaniteus

I've never heard of the Mormons as being a "cult", and we have a ton here.

Generally, the difference between a Religion and a Cult is that Religions are accepted by the masses, and Cults are not. Same difference between "Guerrilla Rebels" and "Insurgents", or "King" and "Dictator". Both examples I thought up purely coincidentially can be applied to Iraq now that I think about it lol. Well, many synonyms have only a difference in connotation really, and are used by leaders of causes in manipulation.

-Insaniteus-

kholmes

Volfro is correct, the whole name of LDS is The Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints and yes they do believe in Christ and the trinity actually. Or the true essence of it anyway. They believe in God, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus but they dont think they are 3 seperate beings (God and the Holy Spirit are the same, they believe) And I wouldnt call LDS a cult. If you wanna talk about "christian" cults, I would think of people that are snake handlers or even the ones that speak in tongues(I believe in speaking in tongue, just not by most everyone every Sunday) But when you say cult most people are gonna think of the occult which is more sinister .. black magic, witchcraft, etc..... Either way its all in who is defining it and the enviroment or area they live in.

Jimi

To be honest, I can't even believe that this is up for debate. Cults and religion are so obviously different, that people who throw them in the same category obviously know nothing of either. A cult is generally based on a religion, but deviated into an extreme somehow.

Take the Branch Davidian, for example. David Koresh used religion to manipulate friends and family into a sort of militia, which cults often do. Cults generally live on a compound.... Branch Davidians, Jim Jones, Heaven's Gate, and many, many more.

Comparing the two is absurd.

Wayne Brady

The early Christians were considered a (Jewish) cult in their day. Makes you think about our how our perception of this issue isn't far off from the perception of 2000 years ago.

Jimi

What? By whom?

And no, they're nothing the same... Bhuddism is not a cult, Hinduism... not a cult, Christianity, Judaism, Islam.... not a cult.

Haro Krishna, Heaven's Gate, People's Temple, Moonies, Worldwide Church of God, Snake Handlers.... those are cults.